A Texas congressman didn’t like Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill’s comments that some lawmakers were “playing politics” in the ongoing dispute over the barricaded World War II Memorial.

McCaskill, a Democrat, complained that some lawmakers who didn’t have veterans at the memorial were showing up anyway just to score political points.

World War II vets have been entering their memorial even though its barricaded due to the government shutdown. Members of Congress have shown up with them to support their right to be at the memorial, even though it’s technically closed.

“It’s a little confusing as how many people are here who don’t have veterans in their states (at the memorial),” McCaskill said. “I’m not sure why they’re here other than to try to play politics on the backs of veterans, which I think is bad manners,” McCaskill said Wednesday.

“My heart breaks for somebody with the ignorance of Claire McCaskill,” he said. “Having served in the Army active duty ’78 to ’82, having been spit at in uniform, having been ordered not to wear my uniform off post because of the threats to people in uniform, I understand. I’ve stood with families when there was no camera anywhere in sight, anywhere with just a handful of people.”

He wasn’t done.

“She sees veterans and thinks politics. Some of us see veterans, and our heart breaks and rejoices for the sacrifice they were willing to make … I didn’t know if a camera would be there, I didn’t care, but I knew there would be World War II veterans who had served their country so patriotically. We were going to be there to do whatever we could for them.”